Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling; various publishers including, but not limited to, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books; and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: This is the chapter where that background slash I mentioned comes into the story. Don't fret too much about it, it's not graphic and consists mostly of flirting in Latin.

Chapter Eleven: Sirius Black

"Good evening, Mrs. Brewer," Albus greeted Aurilia through the floo.

"Hello, Albus, and I thought I asked you several times to call me 'Aurilia' when you were here?" Aurilia grinned at the headmaster and finished drying her hands. She had been in the middle of finishing up a batch of lotions when the floo chimed. "Everything all right with Harry?" she asked, worry for her son never far from her mind.

"Harry is quite all right," Albus reassured Aurilia. "However, there was an incident last night concerning a troll on the school grounds, but no lasting damage was done, so I shall leave that as a story for him to tell. No, my call today has little to do with your son and more to do with another young man."

Aurilia took a seat on the hearth. "What do you mean?"

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry's voice sounded in the background of the floo call.

"Ah, young Mr. Brewer. I was just speaking with your mum," Dumbledore said, his head turning in the fire, presumably to look at Harry.

"Good, I wanted to talk to her, too," Aurilia heard Harry say. The floo version of Albus Dumbledore's head disappeared and was momentarily replaced by that of Harry. "Hey Mom. I've got a favor to ask," he started, then went on to outline what had happened with Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. When he finished with that, Aurilia asked about the troll.

Harry grinned, "That wasn't connected, an' I'll tell y'all 'bout it on Thanksgiving."

Aurilia replied to Harry's request by saying that she would talk to Jim and Dave about it and call them back the next day.

And so, a week later, Sirius Black, still trying to remind himself that he was well and truly free, stepped from the floo in the Headmaster's Suite in Hogwarts and into a two-story farmhouse a half a world away, where a waiting Remus Lupin caught him. "Hey," Sirius smiled.

"Hey yourself," Remus replied with an ear-splitting grin. He'd come ahead to get to know Aurilia, Jim, and Dave a little before Sirius showed up. Aside from that first day when he and Dumbledore retrieved Sirius from Azkaban, this was the first chance he'd had to see Sirius. Sirius had spent the majority of the intervening week at Saint Mungo's, being force-fed a multitude of potions. Among the potions Sirius had to choke down were some magic-restoratives, nutrient potions, a long-term low-level cheering potion – that had tasted more like hot chocolate than an actual potion – and several remedies for miscellaneous health issues he'd been suffering from – including pneumonia and a lowered circulation to his extremities. The only thing that Sirius could really remember from that first day was his three-hour-long bath. It had felt so good to get clean after ten years living in his own filth. He was even happier the day he was released from the hospital and Albus gave him his wand. His first spell was a shaving charm, followed by the charm he had always used to trim his hair.

Remus reflected that Sirius, though pale and still somewhat thin, had never looked better. He helped him to his feet then engulfed the blue-eyed wizard in a hug that could have rivaled Hagrid in sheer force. "obsĕcro mihi ignōscas, mel meum (1). I never should have believed those lies… Should have known better… Known you better…" Remus' voice was tight, and Sirius could tell he was just barely holding onto his composure by the skin of his teeth.

"hac lege mihi purgatus eris, si, quod cessatum est in officio sarcias (2)," Sirius replied softly, holding Remus' shoulders so he could look him in the eye. "nemo est mortalium, qui sapiat omnibus horis (3)."

Remus' eyes were glassy; he was moments from losing it completely. "gratia Merlin, quod nobis incolumis redisti, Padfoot (4)."

"benigne (5), Moony, it's good to be back," Sirius took a deep breath and tried to shake off the melancholy air that threatened to drown both of them. He cocked his head to the side at the unfamiliar scents on the air. "I really can tell I'm not in England – or Scotland, for that matter. And is that dinner I smell?"

Remus laughed, "Don't ever change, Padfoot."

"Has our other guest finally arrived?" Sirius turned towards the door when he heard an unfamiliar woman's voice come from the same direction as the sweet smell of something baking and the faint sizzle of frying meat.

"Yes," Remus shouted back. "That's Aurilia Brewer, Harry's mum."

Sirius nodded, he'd spoken several times with Albus over the course of the last week, and had been brought up-to-speed on the many, many events he had missed while in Azkaban. "What's for dinner?" he asked, his stomach rumbling to stress his words. Though his appetite wasn't quite back to its pre-prison state, it was close, and he found himself unaccountably worried about food. He was told by a mind-healer that the obsession would pass with time.

"I don't know," Remus grinned. "Every time I asked, I was run out of the kitchen with a spatula. All I can tell is that it's beef of some sort."

Sirius chuckled. "Reminds me of what Lily used to do to me and James when she was feeling particularly exasperated."

"I know," Remus replied. "Since I'm sure we've still got a bit before dinner's ready, I'll show you around some. The grand tour can wait until tomorrow, but we can get your things put away, at least."

"Lead onward," Sirius said, grabbing a hold of the backpack of things he'd brought with him with one hand and wrapping his other arm around Remus' shoulders. Remus showed Sirius around the ground floor of the house, making sure to point out the water closet through the door under the stairs before taking him up to the second floor and their room. Sirius quirked an eyebrow at the guest room before Remus could even open the door. "One room?" he asked.

Remus smiled a little wistfully, "They only have the one extra room, Padfoot, though Aurilia did mention that there's another in Dave's house, if you'd rather. I suppose I was a little too presumptuous – "

Sirius laid a finger over Remus' lips, halting what the werewolf was going to say. "non ita, mi amorium. persuade tibi (6), though I would rather the last ten years had never happened, I still remember, Remus. The dementors may have tried to take all my good memories, but I still have them."

Remus could hear what Sirius didn't say out loud, 'I still have you.' He suddenly felt like he did when they were sixteen and trying to figure out just why it was that neither of them wanted much to do with girls, despite James' longing for Lily and Peter's rather crude descriptions of what he wanted to do to half the girls in the school over the age of fourteen. How is it that even after all this time, after all the hell we've both been through, he can still say or do something that makes me feel like none of it ever happened? He nodded and opened the door, "In that case, I won't suggest transfiguring the bed," he smiled and took Sirius' backpack.

Sirius looked around the room and flopped onto the bed. "You still carry chocolate everywhere?"

Remus nodded while opening the pack and setting to putting Sirius' clothes into the chest of drawers. "It's in the right pocket of my robe there," he jerked his chin towards a coat-rack in the corner behind the door.

Still feeling a little euphoric after the return of his wand, Sirius accioed a chocolate frog from Remus' robe. He was under strict instructions from the mediwizards to partake of at least twenty grams of chocolate daily, until he was back to a healthy weight. He had also been ordered to get plenty of exercise – something that wouldn't be that difficult, as Sirius eating chocolate had the same effect of feeding caffeine to a five-year-old; he became hyperactive.

Munching on the frog, Sirius asked, "So… what's it like here?"

Remus, pleased to see that Albus had warned Sirius to pack primarily muggle clothes, started putting sweaters on hangars, "It's busy, or so I've seen. Mornings are very early – they're up before the sun. Bedtime comes just as early, though, and the last couple of days, I've been helping out. They raise horses, and there are a smattering of other animals about the place. There's a golden retriever, just to warn you ahead of time. Her name's Missy."

Sirius snickered, "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Remus shrugged, "I don't know what you mean, Padfoot. There's a good sized forest outside, even though it's too dark to see it properly just now. The people seem friendly enough, and one of Harry's friends drops by every couple of days."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Aurilia's been training her in muggle herbology – Aurilia owns an herbalist store. The girl's name is A.J., and she's an astute little witch. Managed to figure out I was a werewolf in only three hours, from a startlingly few number of clues."

Sirius finished off the chocolate frog and let out a low whistle. "Damn, and to think, it took me and James almost a year to puzzle it out. How did she suss it?"

Remus had just finished hanging up Sirius' shirts and was saved from replying by a shout up the stairs, "Dinner's ready!" A couple of seconds later, a fainter shout of the same words followed.

"Shall we?" Sirius asked, jumping up from the bed.

Remus chuckled. It was really good to have Sirius back. "Of course," he replied.

Dinner turned out to be steak – medium rare, apparently all five of them preferred their steak the same way – with twice-baked potatoes. As had been the case with almost every dinner Remus had partaken of in the Brewer household, there was also bread and butter and a salad. Dinner also provided Remus with the chance to observe some of the changes Sirius had gone through. Though he savored every bite of his steak, he also ate three plates of salad – something the old Sirius would never have done.

"Remus tells us you were once an auror?" Aurilia said, helping the baby with his dinner.

Sirius nodded, "That I was," he admitted, "Though I don't think I'll be continuing in that particular profession."

"It's not like you have to work," Remus commented while he sectioned the steak into individual bites.

"Why not?" Jim asked. "From what I been told, an auror is somethin' like a policeman, only more excitin'."

Sirius looked up from his plate, "Simply put, it was in the discharge of my duties as an auror that I was framed by Pettigrew."

"noli tumultuari, amorium (7). It was a long time ago," Remus could tell Sirius was getting angry.

"abi in malam rem! non sum ignarus (8), Remus, but it may as well have been yesterday, too!" Sirius took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "My apologies, ma'am. My outburst was uncalled for."

Aurilia shrugged it off, "No harm done. I figure, if anyone's deserved an outburst or two, it'd be you. And call me Aurilia. My name isn't 'ma'am.'"

Sirius chuckled and returned to his food. "I have to admit, seeing the three of you is somewhat disconcerting."

"How so?" Dave asked, piling more potatoes onto his plate.

"Well… It's that the three of you resemble some people I used to know, only… It's more like there's just enough of the person I know in you three that I keep expecting the other person to come into the room…"

Remus looked up, "Who?"

"Well… Dave here looks like Davey Gudgeon, only without the appalling taste in clothes and the quidditch scar. Jim looks quite a bit like a taller version of Ted Tonks – you know, he married my cousin, Andromeda. And Aurilia looks more like Lily than her own sister does." Sirius fell silent for a moment, crunching through a mouthful of shredded carrot and lettuce. He smiled a little and commented, "And add to Aurilia's resemblance to Lily, Jim's name being almost the same as James'."

Dave broke down laughing at that.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked.

"Jim ain't short for 'James,'" he gasped out. "It's – ow!"

Jim had elbowed his brother none too gently. "Shut your mouth, big brother, before I hafta shut it for ya."

Dave looked crestfallen until Aurilia caught his eye and smirked, "Jim is actually his initials in a pronounceable form. His full name is 'Jonquil in the Morning.'"

Jim leveled a glare at his wife. "Not fair, honey."

"Oh, shush it, dear," she replied. "Consider it penance for hitting someone at my dinner table."

Though Sirius was sorely tempted to laugh, he decided not to, at least not where Jim could hear him; though he had magic at his disposal, he was pretty sure Jim could take him if he were so inclined. "Interesting name… How did you come by it?"

"Mom's half-Cherokee," Dave explained. "It's a Native American naming tradition for the father to be blindfolded and led outside, whatever he sees first is what the kid gets named." He turned to Jim, "It coulda been worse, ya know. You coulda been called 'Idling Toyota.' Or even worse – 'Squatting Dog .'"

Sirius snickered, "So is that how you were named, as well?"

Dave nodded, "Yeah, but I got lucky. The first thing Pop saw when I was born was a billboard tryin' ta raise interest in the arts. It showed a picture of the Statue of David - I'm just glad Ma had her way, otherwise I'd be answerin' ta 'Bill'."

When dinner was done – dessert was a thick chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting – Jim and Dave set to clearing the table and Aurilia took Cyrus upstairs for his bath. "There a chessboard in this place?" Sirius asked. Remus smiled and hurried up to their room. He returned to the living room and set it up on the coffee table.

Remus was surprised to find that Azkaban hadn't hurt Sirius' game play at all, and realized that this game – like the many games they'd played in the past – would likely end in a stalemate. He sighed and looked to the pieces, trying to figure out what he could do to keep that from happening. "Iffen I was you, I'd move the bishop, an' take his rook." Both Sirius and Remus jumped at the sound of Dave's voice.

"You play?" Remus asked.

Dave nodded, "Yeah. Ain't much to do on sheep-watch most nights. Jim an' I used to work on a sheep ranch out in Montana, an' neither of us is all that great at playin' cards - 'cept for poker, an' that ain't no fun with only two. Hafta say I ain't seen a board where the pieces move on their own 'fore, though."

"It's a wizarding chess set," Sirius explained as he watched Remus' bishop annihilate his rook. The pieces appeared on the side of the board, and Dave watched in amazement as the rook knitted itself back together. The move Dave had suggested proved to be the key to ending the draw – though it was Sirius who eventually won. "Care for another game?" he asked.

Remus shook his head, "No, mi amorium (9), I don't think so."

"I'll play ya," Dave said just as Jim entered the room. With Jim and Remus watching in interest, Sirius reset the board and was hard-pressed to keep from grinning while his little brother got thoroughly trounced by the visiting wizard. By the end of the game, Sirius was starting to feel the effects of the chocolate; his foot was bouncing and he kept fidgeting.

"non tu te cohĭbes, Sirius! (10)" Remus exclaimed, exasperated with the incessant motion.

"haec res male urit te? (11)" Sirius grinned.

"sic, ut dici vix possit, (12)" Remus rubbed a hand across his face.

Jim and Dave exchanged a curious look, "Um…" Jim said. "Just what're y'all sayin'?"

"Sirius ate chocolate. I'm somewhat surprised he's not literally bouncing off the walls right now," Remus explained, slightly amused.

Jim shook his head in bemusement while he checked his watch. "I'd tell y'all to go take a walk, but neither of y'all really know the area that well. Don't want y'all ta get lost. It's comin' up on ten, though, so I think I'm gonna head to bed. Mornin' comes early, so if you want breakfast, you'll be up around five-thirty or so."

Sirius nodded, "Sure," while Dave stood and stretched.

"Goodnight," Dave said before heading towards the back door and the path to the cottage. Jim similarly bid Sirius and Remus a good night before heading upstairs.

"What about you?" Sirius asked. "Are you tired, too?"

Remus shook his head. "Not particularly."

"Me, neither," he grinned. "What do you propose we do about that?"

Remus returned the grin, "I can think of a thing or two."

"Really?" Sirius asked in mock-innocence. "And just what might those be?"

Remus got up from the armchair he was sitting in and pulled Sirius to his feet. "I'm sure you can guess, Padfoot," he murmured before stretching up to reach Sirius' lips with his own.

The next morning found Aurilia standing in the doorway to her guests' room, light from the hall spilling across the bed. She was smiling tenderly at the two men. The taller of the two – Sirius – was curled almost impossibly small, and Remus was wrapped protectively around him. It's criminal that they were forced to spend so much time apart, Remus thinking his lover had betrayed not only their friend, but him, too. Her smile faded as she stepped silently back into the hall, closing the door behind her. If I ever find the guy responsible for that – never mind that he's in prison right now – I'll skin him and use his carcass to decorate for Halloween. Love's too precious to be squandered on fears and doubts, regrets and longing.

A/N2: See? The slash isn't going to get any more explicit than this, no matter how much fans of the subgenre might beg.

A/N3: (August 25, 2007) I located my Latin phrasebook, so here are the translations for what Sirius and Remus are saying:

1. obsĕcro mihi ignōscas, mel meum – Please forgive me, sweetheart
2. hac lege mihi purgatus eris, si, quod cessatum est in officio sarcias – You will be forgiven on condition that you try to make up what you have missed.
3. nemo est mortalium, qui sapiat omnibus horis – We all have our moments of weakness
4. gratia Merlin, quod nobis incolumis redisti – Thank Merlin that you're safely back
5. benigne – Thank you
6. non ita, mi amorium. persuade tibi – No, my love. Rest assured
7. noli tumultuari, amorium – Don't get into a state, love
8. abi in malam rem! non sum ignarus – Go to blazes! I'm well aware of that
9. mi amorium – my love
10. non tu te cohĭbes – Restrain yourself
11. haec res male urit te? – Does this annoy you?
12. sic, ut dici vix possit – I can hardly say how much